


September

by seraphseppuku



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Canon Compliant, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27837703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphseppuku/pseuds/seraphseppuku
Summary: Sage never considered himself much of a romantic.He figured he'd have to settle sometime, but he supposes that until now that thought seemed like a distant island in a sea of other things young men like himself are to be concerned about. He's always preferred to be a loyal devotee to his studies, as knowledge is what keeps a man afloat even in his darkest times. At least that's what his father would say. Although he'd never admit it, he would soon find himself under a dark spell, one he never learned to counter.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Boarding

It was already September.

Sage got up from his chair, looking down at the letter in his pale clammy hands

_Your Cousin Erik will be taking you to the platform on Monday morning, please be ready with your trunk. He will not tolerate any delay._

He sighed and folded it, placing it in his pocket. He then walked up to his window, grabbing the sill and sticking his head out, seeing his Cousin's vintage Bentley pulling into the driveway.

Sage turned around, leaning on the windowsill. He suddenly felt nauseous. A pit in his stomach he couldn't quite place. He took a breath and sat on the floor, recounting all his supplies, already neatly placed in his trunk.

_Why are you nervous? This is your third time doing this already, snap out of it._

"Hey! Get down here already I don't have all day!"

His eyes darted to the window, startled. Sage scrambled to his feet, and to the window.

"I'm on my way idiot." He responded, shaky voice almost shrill.

Erik stood reclined on his car with his arms crossed, tilted his head.

" _Hurry up then_." He responded, imitating Sage's shrill tone.

Sage rolled his eyes, and turned away, looking in the mirror and adjusting his green tie, tightening it snug to his neck in hopes it'll calm his shaking breath. He ran his hand through his dark hair. He sighed,

He then shut his trunk, dragging it out of his room and down the carpeted, wallpapered hallways of his family's manor. He stopped at the staircase. He thought about just throwing the trunk downstairs, saving him the trouble. Just as that thought entered the realm of possibility, Sage heard the front door open. The grand wooden door was located just in front of the grand staircase Sage stood at the top of.

Sage watched as his cousin walked in, surveying the situation. He narrowed his eyes at Sage.

"Draco, come help out Sage here." He said, turning his back on Sage, facing the driveway.

Sage watched as a slim, blonde boy with sharp features walked in behind Erik. He looked up at him, grey eyes taking in his position. He then looked up at Erik.

"Don't just stand there, help him," Erik said, playfully hitting him on the back of the head.

Draco rolled his eyes at him and made his way up the stairs.

Sage recognized him as soon as he could get a better look. He noticed Draco was wearing his uniform, new robes, and shined shoes, similar to his own.

"You should take the back, it's your trunk after all," Draco said matter of factly.

Sage sighed, cheeks tinted pink.

"I'm feeling a bit ill, I'd appreciate it if you took the back," Sage responded.

Draco scowled at him, deflated. They each took a side, Draco taking the back. Sage watched as he deftly made his way down the stairs backward.

Sage recognized him, or well, his father to be more accurate.

_We've met a few times at various dinner parties. We run with the same crowd but were never close friends._

"Hey. Your name is Sage right?" He said, looking up at him.

Sage looked up at him, eyes slightly widened at the unexpected mention of his name.

"Um. Yes." Sage responded, head still reeling from earlier.

"I'm Dra-"

"I know who you are Draco." Sage interrupted.

"Oh," Draco said, looking down.

"Sorry-- that was weird" Sage muttered. "I mean we've met before." He explained himself.

"Yeah," Draco said.

Their conversation hit an awkward standstill as they continued lugging Sage's trunk down the grand staircase.

Once they reached the bottom, Draco sighed and dusted off his robes, and strolled out the house, hands in his pockets, Erik following close by.

Sage silently pulled his trunk out of the house and behind the car. He looked at the boot dumbly. 

"Pull it open Sage it's got a latch." His cousin said annoyed.

Sage felt around for a handle, and after a few tries finally pulled it open. He took a breath and picked up his trunk, and with a grunt pushed it into the boot, neatly stacked on top of Draco's. He then walked back to the side of the car, opening the door sitting beside Draco. Erik got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"I don't know why we can't just apparate," Draco said.

Sage looked over at him, he sat with his arms crossed, looking out the window as Erik pulled out of the driveway.

"Have some respect for culture Draco. This is a Bentley." He responded nonchalantly, one hand on the steering wheel, another adjusting the rear-view mirror.

"I have respect for the culture," Draco responds begrudgingly. "It's the muggle artifact I have a problem with."

Erik looked unbothered, barely paying attention to the empty road in front of him, instead opting to admire the stitching on the leather of the wheel. "I'm not going to deny Muggles are dim, but one does have to appreciate the genius of-"

"Genius? That's absurd. I'll bet the Weasley's have the same model in the tin shack they call their garage." Draco said, snickering at his own joke.

"If my father were here he'd-"

"Well he's not here is he." Erik interrupted, offended at the comparison. He glared at the boy in the rearview mirror.

After a beat, he continued. "Your father entrusted me to take you to the platform. If you've got a problem you can get out and walk to London yourself."

Frustrated, Draco ran his tongue on his front teeth, throwing his head back onto the seat, he switched his gaze to the window.

Sage let out a sigh, closing his eyes and leaning his face against the window. He imagined being anywhere else, maybe back at home, sitting in his family's garden, staring at the flowers. Lilies, poppies, and his favorite, _the white roses_. He wondered if they'd be able to feel the tension if they were here. He smiled at the admittedly silly thought.

"Do you play quidditch?"

Sage quickly dropped the smile and turned his head to the boy sitting next to him. His arms were still crossed, and his head tilted expectantly. Bright grey eyes locked with Sage's own. Sage felt himself get nervous, as soon as he gathered his scattered mind he realized he hadn't responded.

"Sorry. I don't." Sage responded with a nervous smile.

"How come?" Draco asked cooly.

"It's not really my thing I guess," Sage responded. He wondered how much longer until they reached London.

"Y-you're the Slytherin seeker right?" Sage stammered in an attempt to continue the conversation.

"Yep. We're gonna have a killer season this year." Draco said, turning his gaze to the window, looking out at the sky, pondering.

Sage nodded, breaking his own gaze to look down at his hands, he fidgeted with his fingers nervously.

"What electives are you taking this year?" Draco asked, turning away from the window, tilting his head down in attempts to meet Sage's gaze once more.

Sage looked up at him and blinked, taking a second to process the question.

"Oh- Um- Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," Sage responded.

"How come?" Draco asked.

"They seemed easy enough," Sage responded, shrugging.

Draco nodded, and shifted his gaze back to the window, staring out at the sky, Sage could see his expression reflected on the glass. He looked as though he were pondering something.

"I picked those too." He said.

"Oh," Sage said.

The rest of the car ride was uneventful, the two boys eventually fell asleep, to the relief of Erik of course, who could relish in his drive without Draco's babbling.

Sage was awoken as the door he was resting his head on suddenly flew open, he steadied himself, almost falling face-first into the curb. He blushed magnificently at the roughly ten spectators who happened to be walking by.

"Sorry," Erik said grinning, hand on the door handle.

Sage quickly glared at Erik and made his way to the back of the car, thoroughly embarrassed. Draco was already standing there. Sage grabbed his trunk out of the car, placing it onto a trolley, Draco followed suit with his own. He looked up from his trunk, and Draco caught his gaze.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Sage said, breaking their eye contact and moving along.

The three made their way into the station. They walked along the tracks. Sage looked at the muggles, watched them go about their business. This was a rare opportunity for him as he never saw muggles. He couldn't help but feel sorry for them, yet envy them at the same time. Their lives seemed so simple. On the surface at least. Magic, a gift as well as a curse. A power that he wasn't sure he deserved. Sage was suddenly aware of the wand situated in his robe, and its ability to help him or destroy him. Harm or Heal. Kill or Revive. The duality of magic, similar to the duality of man itself he thought.

"Get out of your head Sage," Erik said looking down at him, eyebrows furrowed.

Sage quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He realized he was standing at the platform already. He turned his head, Draco behind him looking at him expectantly. Sage swallowed the pit forming in his throat, and began running.

In an instant, he was on the other side. He looked around and instantly felt the stark differences in atmosphere, he watched his peers, many he recognized, many he did not. Sage felt Draco's presence next to him.

"God, look at those idiots," Draco said, sneering.

Sage looked where Draco was looking, and saw Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, chatting amongst themselves. He watched as a red-headed woman looking a lot like Weasley kissed him, as well as his siblings.

_Their mother_ Sage thought to himself.

The woman finally kissed Granger and Potter. Draco laughed.

"You want a kiss too little Draco?"Sage heard Erik say, in a mocking tone, from behind them.

Draco jumped, startled. Erik grabbed Draco's head and pursed his lips, trying to kiss him on the forehead. Draco struggled, trying to push Erik off him.

"Get- off m- me!" Draco managed.

Erik got off him, laughing. Sage stifled a giggle as Draco turned bright red, a few students looked at him strangely. Sage was thankful for this bit of light-heartedness as he remained nervous for the ride ahead of him.

Sage watched as the students began to board. The first-years waving nervously to their tearful parents. Sage looked to Draco, he looked confident. His blonde hair slicked and not a strand out of place.

Sage stared intently as if trying to absorb some of his confidence for himself.

"Let's go." He said, turning to look at Sage.

Sage looked back at Erik, who waved at them.

"Don't forget to write Sage" Erik said.

Sage nodded and turned back to Draco.

The two boys made their way onto the train. Sage noticed the full capacity of the train, he wondered if he'd even be able to find a cab. The halls were a tight squeeze on their own and the students scrambling about trying to find somewhere to sit sure didn't help. Draco and Sage passed a common area, where their peers were trading cards, some were practicing spells and some were simply looking out the window, watching their fellow students board. They made it into an emptier section of the train, still, the cabs weren't vacant. Draco suddenly stopped, causing Sage to bump into him, stepping on his robes.

"Be careful," Draco said, not turning to look back at Sage.

Draco turned his head to look in one of the cabs. He smiled and waved into the cab, opening it up. Sage looked inside, Pansy Parkinson, who Sage recognized. A pretty Slytherin girl with a round face and a flat, upturned nose. She had a sour neutral expression, but as soon as she saw Draco her hazel eyes lit up.

"Sit in here, everywhere's full anyway," Draco said, looking back at Sage.

"Oh. Alright." Sage responded nervously.

Sage managed to get his trunk in the compartment above their cab and made his way inside. He sat on one side, Draco and Pansy sat on the other. The two conserved amongst themselves, while Sage looked out the window. Sage contemplated taking a nap, but then looked up at Pansy, and thought it would be inappropriate to fall asleep in front of someone who's practically a stranger.

The train began to move. Sage closed his eyes and turned, kicking his feet up onto his seat, leaning on the side of the train.

"Sage."

Sage turned his head, Pansy was sat with her legs crossed, looking at him.

"Pansy," Sage responded somewhat confused.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Pansy asked smiling.

"I- no," Sage said, his cheeks tinted red.

"Why would you ask me that." He said, looking back out the window.

"I was just curious," Pansy said, giggling.

"Well, who do you fancy?" She continued.

"Noone," Sage answered plainly.

"You're making him uncomfortable Pansy." Draco chimed in.

"No, I'm not. Watch this, Sage, am I making you uncomfortable?" Pansy said, tilting her head.

Sage shook his head hesitantly.

Sage heard the door to the cab open, two boys came in, He recognized them instantly.

"Hey Crabbe, hey Goyle," Draco said.

Draco stood and sat next to Sage, and let the two boys sit next to Pansy, as she took up the least space. She scooted and the two sat.

"Hello, Draco," Crabbe said.

"You won't believe the idiocy I had to deal with this morning," Draco said, crossing his arms, leaning back onto the back of the seat.

"Erik drove us here in a car, could you believe that?" Draco said angrily.

"Who's Erik?" Pansy asked.

"Family friend," Draco answered.

Sage swallowed and looked out the window, it was raining, the cab felt much fuller than before. Just as Sage was about to zone back out, the lights suddenly went out.

"What in the-" Draco said, confused.

Sage could see Draco getting up, barely any light entered the cabin from its window since the sky was dark with rain clouds. He opened the cab, stuck his head out, and promptly closed it, sitting back down.

"What's going on?" Pansy asked.

"I don't know. The prefect told me to stay in here." Draco said.

"Whatever. Dumbledore forgot to pay the power bill I guess." Draco said.

Crabbe and Goyle laughed, while Pansy looked out the window, concerned.

"I don't know how you're so calm. Sirius Black is on the loose, you know that." Pansy said, looking at Draco knowingly.

"My father says the ministry thinks he's after Potter, maybe he'll teach him a lesson or two," Draco said, seemingly half-joking more cackling from Crabbe and Goyle followed.

Sage looked at the three boys trying to mask his judgment.

Pansy crossed her arms and looked out the window, defeatedly. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle continued their conversation as Pansy kept her gaze fixed on the rain outside, she bit the inside of her cheek looking out nervously.

"Don't worry Pansy, I'm sure it's nothing." Sage managed before he could stop himself.

Draco turned his head to look at them. After about five seconds of silence, Sage felt a pit in his stomach, hoping he hadn't said anything wrong. He could almost feel the walls of the cab caving in.

"I don't think I've ever heard you speak," Crabbe said, looking at Sage with amusement.

Goyle and Draco laughed. Draco still, eyed him. Sage caught his gaze. His dark eyes on Draco's gray ones.

"Shut up Crabbe," Pansy said, hitting his leg with the sleeve of her robes.

She pulled a brown hair behind her ear.

"I hope so," Pansy responded simply, with a shrug.

"So how come you never talk," Crabbe asked.

_I do talk I just don't talk to you._ Sage thought to himself.

"I don't know. I guess I just like keeping to myself." Sage answered, looking down.

"I wish I was like that sometimes," Draco said, once again tilting his head to look down at Sage, in an attempt to meet his gaze.

Sage looked up at him, awaiting reasoning, their eyes meeting again. Sage found himself looking into the gray of his eyes and the way the light from the window lit his face.

"Then I wouldn't have to deal with these two boneheads all day," Draco said, breaking his gaze to look at the two boys in front of him.

The lights finally came back on.

"Thank goodness," Pansy said, relieved.  
  
  


\--


	2. Dormmates

Sage sighed and sat back on the uncomfortable seat of the carriage. It reeked of straw.He wondered if the seats were straw-filled. Maybe that's what made them so horrendous.

He looked over from the window to the two girls gossiping in front of him. Pansy and a Slytherin girl Sage didn't recognize. He turned his head to the window, looking up and realizing they were nearing the Hogwarts castle. Sage swallowed nervously.

He could feel the carriage coming to a halt. The two girls looked out the window as well. Sage took a deep breath as it came to a standstill. He opened the door and looked out onto all the students going up the stone stairs up to the castle. Sage spotted Draco hassling Potter and his friends.

Sage blinked and made his way over, mildly amused.

"Did you faint to Weasley?" Draco said loudly between laughs, staring down at the red-headed boy they'd seen on the platform.

Sage felt a presence behind him, before he could turn, a man brushed past him, walking towards Draco.

_A professor._ Sage thought.

The man was tall and poorly dressed, with light messy hair speckled with gray. Draco spotted him almost instantly. Sage stifled a laugh as Draco stared him down.

"Is there a problem?" The man asked simply.

"Oh, no er- Professor," Draco said sarcastically. He raised an eyebrow and smiled at Crabbe and Goyle, who were sporting smirks of their own.

As Draco and his cronies walked away, Sage once again felt the realization of his lonesome fall onto him. He opted to look back at the carriages, and quickly caught notice of the Thestrals.

Sage had completely forgotten they would be here and quickly averted his gaze. He suddenly remembered his horror at seeing them as a first-year. He had read about them and thought he had prepared, but he almost fainted when he saw them for the first time. Sage looked back at them, staring hesitantly like it was a car wreck. They were dark, tall almost skeletal creatures, looking a lot like horses. Sage recalled the much prettier winged horse species he had read about in one of his father's books and wondered why the school picked a creature so awful to pull these carriages. Not to mention dangerous too-

"You look disturbed." A breathy voice said behind him.

Sage turned quickly, his eyes still wide, and face still pale from the sight of the Thestrals. A girl with long blonde hair and dreamy gray eyes. She almost reminded him of Draco, only her face was softer and rounder, she also lacked the severity in Draco's eyes.

"Oh- I'm just-" Sage stammered, unsure how to reply.

"It's okay, I know they can be jarring to some people." She said.

Sage looked at her, and her dress, she was wearing a Ravenclaw blue tie, along with what looked to be candied strawberries as earrings. He finally recognized her.

This was Luna Lovegood. He knew her father was the editor of _The Quibbler_ , Sage remembered fondly reading it as a little boy for a laugh. Although he recognized its bizarre nature, Sage liked seeing different perspectives even if they're shrouded in lunacy.

She had been the subject of teasing at school. This teasing had gotten to the point where Sage was sure this was the only time he had seen Luna with shoes on, as he knew her classmates liked to steal them.

"I like your shoes," Sage said offhandedly in an attempt to change the subject.

Luna looked down at her shoes, black strappy flats.

"Thank you." She said politely.

"They're called thestrals." She said, turning to the carriages.

Sage stood looking at her, dumbfounded.

"I- I know." He responded.

He looked around at the other students, watched them enter the castle unaware of the ghastly creatures behind them. He then looked over at the girl next to him again, watched her look at the thestrals, a strange fondness in her eye.

****

Sage laid down on his bed.

_This day feels like a week_ Sage thought to himself.

His stomach ached, full from the feast. He recalled his uneventful summer and wondered if that's why he felt so tired now that he was back at school. He got up, he was the first at his dormitory and wasn't sure who to expect as his dormmates as his room had been changed. He felt a lump in his throat. Although he didn't particularly like his last roommates, he wasn't eager to meet new people.

He took a breath and felt grateful for this time alone. Alone time was rare at Hogwarts.

He got up from his bed and grabbed a school book from his trunk, intending to get some early reading done. He glanced at the other beds and thought of looking for initials on his roommate's trunks.

Before Sage could finish his thought, he heard the door open and saw two boys walk in. He felt glad he recognized them. The first was Blaise Zabini, a tall boy with sharp, high cheekbones and intelligent eyes. He had a shaved head, deep brown skin, and dark eyebrows looking to be meticulously groomed. His black eyes scanned the room as soon as he entered, walking towards his trunk.

Behind him came Theodore Nott, Sage breathed a sigh of relief as he walked through the door. He was taller now, but still as thin and awkward in his movements as ever. He had light brown hair, straight and almost down to his jawline. He smiled at Sage, who promptly returned it.

Theodore made his way over to Sage, sitting down at his bed, next to Sages.

"You've grown this summer," Sage said, sitting and crossing his legs at the knee.

"Really?" Theodore said, looking down at himself.

"I thought my trousers had begun to shrink!" Theodore joked.

"You won't believe what Crabbe did last year. That's probably why they moved him out." He began.

"What happened?" Sage asked, amused.

"Malfoy dared him to try and light a candle using wand-less magic after they saw some sixth years do it." Theodore continued. 

"He managed to set his bedsheets on fire since the bonehead thought it would be a great idea to sit the candle on his bed." He said.

"Eventually Malfoy tried to put it out with another spell but in his panicked stupor, he managed to set the canopy on fire instead." Theodore laughed.

Sage giggled and looked up at his bed, noting how new his bed's canopy looked in comparison to the rest.

"I wonder where they've moved him," Sage asked nonchalantly.

"Maybe with some fourth years, hopefully then if he tries it again, Malfoy won't be there to fumble." He laughed.

As soon as he said that, two more boys walked through the door. Draco Malfoy and behind him Gregory Goyle. The two look over at Sage and exchange a knowing look.

"Anyways, how was your summer?" Sage said.

"It was good. My family and I stayed in our summer home in Italy." Theodore said, getting up and walking towards his trunk. Sage now recalled his letters and noted the freckles on Theodore's usually light ivory skin, now tinged with pink from the sun.

He began taking out his clothes, folding them.

"And yours?" Theodore asked, looking up at Sage.

"It was fine," Sage said. He looked around the room and watched as the other boys began unpacking. He got up and started doing the same.

"I'm relieved we're back at school, I really hate staying with my uncle," Sage said, folding a linen undershirt.

"Well everyone at the ministry's been really busy lately with Black's escape," Theodore said lowly.

The boys went silent for a few beats, unsure what to say next. Sage watched as Theodore eyed Draco.

"You got a problem, Nott?" Draco said, looking back at him.

"Do you know anything about Sirius Black?" Theodore asked.

"No," Draco said simply, getting back to folding a pair of trousers.

"You're the one who's related to him," Theodore muttered.

Sage heard Blaise stifle a laugh. Draco looked up at him again, eyebrows furrowed. 

"What? That doesn't mean anything." Draco scoffed, "You're probably related to him too." 

"I asked my father about him but he wouldn't tell me much," Theodore said, looking down at the dark hardwood of the dormitory disappointedly.

"Neither would mine," Draco muttered, getting back to his folding.

"What do you think he's going to do?" Theodore said, his gaze returning to Sage.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sage said, barely audible.

Theodore looked down at the tie in his hand. 

"He'll probably try to bring .. _You-know-who.._ back. We don't know what he's got planned. I find it's best not to pry." Sage suggested, walking up to the small dresser at the foot of his bed, putting his clothes away.

"I've tried to ask but he never tells me anything," Draco said, annoyed.

"There's probably a reason for that." Blaise joked.

The other boys laughed as Draco sneered.

"I mean he told you to leave Potter alone and you still bug him whatever chance you get." Theodore laughed.

"You're too loud Malfoy, too _obvious_ ," Blaise said, smiling.

"Shut up Zabini. You don't know more than me." Draco responded. "I'm sure they'll be able to feel it when he's about to return. Then my father will tell me." 

With an eye roll from Blaise, the boys got back to unpacking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today it's around 1500 words. I've been a bit busy since the school quarter was about to end that's why this took so long to come out.. but it's all done now and I'm already working on the next part.  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Premonitions

Sage finished tying his shoe and started making his way to the great hall. Theodore waited for him at the door of their dorm, most of the Slytherins had already gone.

"Are you ready?" Theodore asked.

Sage felt in his robes for his wand.

"Yup." He answered.

The two boys talked as they made their way to the great hall for breakfast. They walked through the halls, Sage could already feel the memories of the previous years coming back to him as he examined the cracks in the walls of the castle, he thought of all the stories these walls could tell if they could talk.

Once they made it into the great hall, Sage found that most students had already arrived. The two sat at the Slytherin table, near the other boys from their year.

"And then-" Sage heard a familiar voice begin.

He looks over at Draco, who had his hood on and is doing a fantastical recounting of Harry Potter's dramatic encounter with a dementor on the Hogwarts express. At least that's what Sage could gather.

He couldn't help but imagine what would've happened if the dementor had entered their compartment. Sage recalled the candle story Theodore told him yesterday and laughed.   
He wondered if dementors were immune to fire.

"What's so funny?" Theodore asked, looking over at Sage. "Malfoy's told this story at least twice ever since he overheard Longbottom talking about it."

"I've heard the dementors are awful creatures." Sage lowered his voice to a whisper in Theodore's ear. "I can't really imagine Malfoy would do much better than Potter if that dementor had come onto him. He ought to feel lucky that's not what happened."

Theodore laughed, looking at Draco. Draco eyed him, as well as Sage, before continuing his impression. He threw a limp hand onto his forehead and rolled his eyes back.

"Professor! Help me I'm dying-" Malfoy whimpered.

A shrill laugh came from Pansy, who sat across from Draco and watched his impression with eyes dazzling.

"What do you know about dementors?" Theodore asked, swallowing a bite of food.

"Not much. I know they're even more awful than the thestrals though." Sage remarked, thinking back to the day before.

"You really hate those Thestrals don't you.." Theodore said, "I remember first year you almost fainted when you saw them- although you were always a jumpy kid."

Sage looked behind Draco, where Potter and his friends were just now arriving at the Gryffindor table. They looked over at Draco, and Potter sighed and looked down, embarrassed.

Sage looked back up at Draco, who continued his impression even after noticing Potter. Sage couldn't help but recall the people who laughed when Sage had his first encounter with the Thestrals in his first year. He admits he must've looked ridiculous to people who cannot see the Thestrals, getting so startled by what was seemingly thin air.

"He's even doing it when he's right there," Sage said, eyeing Draco.

"Well, it's Malfoy after all," Theodore said, taking another bite of his food.

***

Sage looked up at the glittery transparent curtain leading to the Divination classroom. He pulled it open hesitantly. He took a breath, still winded from the long tread up the North Tower. His nostrils were almost immediately bombarded with the smell of at least five different incense sticks. Sage coughed, fanning the air with his hand, robe sleeves flailing.

"It's horrible isn't it." Sage heard a voice say from behind him.

Sage turned to his left to its owner, Draco. Draco raised an eyebrow at him and looked him up and down, expression incomprehensible. Sage felt himself get nervous.

"I suppose," Sage responded, looking out into the classroom.

"My ensuite back home is bigger than this classroom," Draco said.

He was right, the classroom was rather small, at least in comparison to the rest of the classrooms at Hogwarts. The room quite unconventional, but so was Divination. The size, however, was certainly not helped by the innumerable bizarre decorations. The crystal balls and teapots were to be expected, however, the innumerable colorful stacked rugs, tattered cards, and feathers looked almost comically bohemian.

"How legitimate do you think Divination is?" Theodore said, appearing behind the two.

Draco turned around quickly, startled.

"I thought about taking Arithmancy, but I don't think I could bear all those.. numerical charts," Draco muttered.

"It's not a very exact science but I can't help but feel this class is probably a whole lot easier than Arithmancy," Sage responded, making his way over to an empty table.

Sage sat down on one of the deep maroon poufs awkwardly. He watched as Draco and Theodore sat at his table, both setting their books down on the table.

Then, the teacher finally emerged seemingly from thin air. She was thin with frizzy long auburn hair. She wore big circular glasses that magnified her eyes significantly, making her look quite bug-like. The teacher wore what looked to be at least ten beaded necklaces. She bore shining draperies and a translucent purple shawl with golden coin beaded edges.

"Welcome." She said, her voice soft and dreamy, not unlike Luna's.

"How nice to see you in the physical world at last." She said, taking her place at the front of the classroom.

"Sit, my children, sit," She urged, motioning at the students who still hadn't taken their seats.

Sage felt himself zoning out as the teacher continued her spiel. He instead opted to look around at his surroundings. Sage took notice of Draco's bored expression, he couldn't help but wonder why he chose this class. Sage also found himself asking why he himself chose this class.

He watched as Professor Trelawney walked around her classroom, giving out predictions left and right. Sage looked down onto the floor, desperately hoping she wouldn't pick on him.

As she continued walked around, making seemingly uninspired predictions Sage couldn't help but remember reading about one Cassandra Trelawney, a very famous practitioner of Divination. She was thought to be a genius seer.

"Professor," Sage said, interrupting her prediction for a frightened-looking Gryffindor girl. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I couldn't help but think of Cassandra Trelawney when you introduced yourself-"

"Yes. She was my great-great-grandmother." She said, looking out at Sage.

"What is your name boy?" She asked getting closer to him.

"Sage. Sage Saviano. Professor." He answered.

"Sage." She said, getting closer to the table. She grabbed his left hand and leaned in, looking him in the eye.

Sage shifted in his pouf uncomfortably.

"Your aura is dissipating." She said frowning.

Sage blinked at her, confused.

"I'm sorry-" Sage began.

"Anyway- In the second term we will progress.." She continued.

"Don't pay her much attention. I've heard talk that she's mad as a hatter. This class ought to be a laugh." Draco sneered.

Sage watched as a Gryffindor girl handed the Professor a teapot from her shelf. 

"Now I want all of you to divide into pairs-" She instructed.

Draco turned his head to look at Pansy Parkinson, who sat at a table near his own. She smiled at him and got up from her table, and moved her pouf over to his table. She sat close next to Draco, looking up at him dreamily.

"I'll go get us the teacups," Theodore said, getting up.

Sure enough, Theodore got up and grabbed four teacups from the shelf. Sage got up, standing next to him as he got the teacups filled by Professor Trelawney. Sage grabbed two cups, and Theodore grabbed the other two. They made their way back to the table making sure not to spill any. Sage set a cup in front of Pansy and another in front of himself as he sat at his pouf once again.

"They're quite pretty aren't they Draco?" Pansy said, looking at her teacup.

Sage examined his teacup, white adorned with pink and gold motifs in flowery shapes.

"I suppose," Draco said, unenthusiastically.

The group began drinking their tea. It tasted rather unremarkable, although Sage was never one for tea. He thought it could use some sweetener and maybe some milk. Once done, they drained the tea and looked into the remnants. Sage handed over his cup to Theodore, who did the same. Sage then opened up his copy of Unfogging the Future and began comparing the different shapes.

"What do you see Pansy?" Draco said, looking up at his partner.

Pansy opened up her book, scouring the pages.

"It looks a bit like a ring," Pansy said excitedly.

"Those look like clouds though," Theodore added, pointing into the cup, he looked back into his book. "Cloudy ring means an unhappy marriage."

"It looks a bit like a wheel, don't you think?" Draco said, looking into the cup, squinting.

"That means inheritance," Sage mentioned, consulting his book.

Draco's eyes lowered and his eyebrows furrowed. A concerned look overtaking his features.

"What does mine look like?" Theodore asked, looking at Sage.

"It looks a bit like an hourglass." Sage guessed.

"That means imminent danger." Pansy gasped dramatically.

For a beat, the three made surprised faces, eyes wide and mouths slightly agape. They held this position for a moment before catching each other's eyes and bursting out laughing.

The group's heads turned suddenly as Professor Trelawney let out a gasp, followed by a yell as she looked down into a student's cup. This cup belonged to none other than Harry Potter.

"Oh for god's sake-" Draco scoffed.

Sage flinched as the ring of breaking china sounded out, another student had dropped their cup.

The professor dropped into an armchair beside Potter's table. She held a ringed hand up to her chest and shut her eyes. She swallowed nervously and her eyes snapped open.

"My dear boy.. my poor-" She babbled on quietly.

Sage looked onto Theodore, unsure what to do. Theodore was doing the same.

"What is it, Professor?" said a Gryffindor boy, a concerned look on his face.

Most of the students surrounding Potter's table got up slowly, curious as to the cup's contents.

"My dear." The professor began, eyes widening, holding her breath in anticipation "You have.. the Grim."

Sage felt a slight chill on his nape. Pansy's eyes widened slightly. Draco's face stayed in its sour annoyed expression. Theodore was seemingly unbothered.

"The what?" Potter asked, looking around at his shocked classmates in confusion.

Professor Trelawney looked up at him, shocked he hadn't understood.

"I don't understand why every class has to be the Potter show, can't we have a normal lesson without the spotlight somehow landing on him," Draco muttered, crossing his arms.

"My dear boy, that is an omen - the worst omen-" She sputtered. "of death!"

Potter went white, his gaze descended to the ground in thought.

With that grizzly premonition, the lesson was promptly ended.

After making his way down the silvery ladder leading up to the Divination classroom, Sage began going down the stairs.

"What a nasty way to end a lesson.." Sage muttered to Theodore, who was walking beside him.

"From what I've heard- Trelawney predicts a student's death every year." Theodore explained, "It's her way of greeting the new class."

"Who told you that?" Sage asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Veronica," Theodore said casually.

"Veronica who?" Sage asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Veronica Shafiq," Theodore said, emphasizing her last name.

Shafiq. Sage recalled the name, and could vaguely remember the faces it corresponded to.

"What are you doing talking to Veronica Shafiq?" Sage said teasingly, smiling at his friend.

"Well.." Theodore began, smiling. "Nothing really, she just mentioned it in passing."

"How well do you know her?" Sage asked.

"Not well, she doesn't really like me... She probably thinks I'm an idiot." Theodore said, the smile on his face never left.

***

After an unremarkable History of Magic class, Sage made his way over to his dorm room, determined to get some reading in before his next lesson. He quickly went down the stairs into the dungeons. He followed in a couple of fifth years after they said the password. He looked onto the common room, just as it was left last year. The dark green light emanating from the window leading to the lake. The black leather couches, dark wood furniture, and fireplace just as he remembered them.

He looked around at the few people in the common room, most students were in the great hall for lunch, so it was fairly vacant. Sage looked at the back of the room, making his way down there quickly, heading down the hallway and around the corner to his dormitory. He opened the door, looking around. He noticed Blaise was sat at the desk beside his bed, presumably doing some homework. Sage made his way over to his own desk, putting his bag down on the desk, taking out his History of Magic textbook. He also took out a piece of parchment, preparing to begin his note-taking, determined to get on Professor Binns' good side this year by turning in his essay early.

***

"Jeez, Sage where have you been? We're going to be late." Theodore groaned.

Sage sprung up, he looked down and realized he had fallen asleep on his desk. He looked over at his essay, finding he'd gotten through the first draft introduction.

"Sorry- what time is it?" Sage asked, getting up.

"Lunch ended. It's time for class." Theodore said in a mocking tone as if it were obvious.

"Oh shush Theo. The number of times I've had to wake you in the middle of class-" Sage began, swiftly interrupted by a groan from Theodore.

"Whatever. Let's get going." Theodore said, turning into the hallway.

Sage rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag. He quickly followed Theodore out the door as they rushed to their next class, noting that the hallways began looking quite sparse as the rest of the student body made their way to class.

The two boys quickly left the castle, walking so quickly they were almost running, Sage looked up at the sky briefly, the weather was fairly characteristic of his school's location

"There they are!" Theodore said between breaths, pointing at the class.

In a flurry of robes, they ran down the vast lawn, careful not to trip. Sage thanked himself for hiking up his socks that morning as he hated the feeling of grass against his skin, especially when it's dewy.

They arrived at the very edge of the Forbidden Forest, at a small stone hut, slightly out of breath and with a couple of stares from their fellow students.


	4. Injury

Theodore and Sage finally arrived at the class, they looked up at the groundskeeper Hagrid, or more appropriately Professor Hagrid. He stood with his arms crossed at the door of his hut. He had a large board-hound at his feet and was wearing a big fur overcoat, that only emphasized his massive stature. Sage watched as Theodore peered into the forest cautiously.   
He wondered for a fleeting moment if Hagrid was going to lead them into the Forbidden Forest.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Professor Hagrid called out to the class.

Sage looked over at the other students who stared at the forest nervously. To Sage's relief, after a brief walk, Hagrid instead led them to an empty paddock. Sage looked around, wondering what Hagrid had to show them. He leaned on the fence, looking down at the grass and trying to figure out what creatures Hagrid was keeping here.

"..That's it- make sure you can see- now, first thing you'll want to do is open your books-"

"How?" Said the unmistakably cold voice.

Sage turned his head to look back at its owner.

"Eh?" Hagrid responded, confused.

"How do we open our books?" Draco said, taking out his book, which had been tied closed with a thick length of twine.

Sage looked around at his peers who slowly began taking out their own books, all somehow bound shut. Some were tied with a rope, like Draco's, however, some were belted and even clipped closed. Sage felt a twinge of relief, as he intended to do some reading before his first lesson to prepare, but was unable to. He pulled out his own book, which he had managed to close with a thick leather belt belonging to his father.

"Hasn't- Hasn't anyone been able to open their books?" Hagrid said, seemingly deflated.

Everyone shook their heads.

"You've gotta stroke them," Hagrid said as though it were obvious. "Look-"

He grabbed Hermoine Granger's copy. She stood next to him watching intently. He then ran his finger down the spine of the book, Sage raised an eyebrow, the book then shook slightly and opened.

Sage felt like kicking himself for not knowing that. There must've been some sort of instruction somewhere-

"Oh, how silly we've all been! We should've stroked them." Draco said sarcastically.

"Why didn't we guess? He said, turning to his peers, flailing his arms in pretend outrage.

"I- I thought they were funny.." Professor Hagrid stammered, looking down at Granger who stood next to him, looking at Draco with an unamused expression.

"Oh, tremendously funny, really witty!" He said, walking up to Hagrid, looking up at him in false amusement.

"Giving us books that try and rip our hands off," Draco said, pointing a finger at the book in Hagrid's hand.

"Shut up Malfoy," someone in the crowd muttered.

"R-right then," Hagrid interrupted, deflated.

Hagrid muttered on as he walked into the paddock and the forest, out of sight to the class.

"God, this place has gone to the dogs," Draco scoffed, crossing his arms. "That oaf teaching classes, my father will have a fit when I tell him-"

Sage didn't think Lucius Malfoy was the type of man to throw a fit over something so minuscule, but he supposes his own family would know him best.

"Shut up Malfoy," Potter said louder, grimacing at Draco.

"Careful Potter there's a dementor-" Draco began, a shocked expression on his face.

With a gasp from a nearby Gryffindor girl, the argument was intercepted as everyone turned to look into the paddock, where about a dozen bizarre creatures started to emerge.

They were large, winged horse-like creatures, at least for their back half. Their front legs eagle-like with sharp talons. Sage's eyes landed on a particular one, they trailed up its body to its chest, feathery and puffed. Its head was certainly eagle-like, the beak was very large and looked quite sharp. Sage remembered an incident as a little boy where, while climbing a tree he was attacked by a relatively harmless brown bird with a much thinner beak. To be fair, Sage was only five when this occurred so his memory was probably dramatized, but he couldn't help but imagine the damage this creature could do with its massive hooked beak.

"Oh my.." Theodore said from beside him, he seemed to be inching back from the fence.

Hagrid suddenly jogged into sight again, chains that connected to thick leather collars around the creatures in his hand. He urged the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Sage and Theodore immediately walked away from the fence, wanting little to do with these creature's bad side. Most of the class also drew back from the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid said excitedly, a smile on his bearded face.  
"Beautiful aren't they." He said, laying a hand affectionately on a nearby Hippogriff.

"So- if you want to come closer-" He began.

No one moved, except for Potter and his two friends. Sage watched amusingly.

Sage heard Draco along with Crabbe and Goyle coming over. He also heard Theodore sigh in anticipation for whatever he's going to say.

"Hopefully Granger volunteers, or even Weasley. Maybe these things'll get a bit of a snack." Draco said in a low voice to the boys. "I wonder if they'd prefer the taste of mudblood over blood traitor, although they'd probably taste the same."

Sage watches as Crabbe and Goyle chortle, Sage forced a laugh, cringing at Draco's bizarre observation and exchanging a judging glance with Theodore. Sage thought Weasley and Granger would taste the same, but not for the reason Draco was implying.

"Yeah Malfoy, I'm sure if the Hippogriff ate one of us, it would be the best meal he'd ever had," Theodore said sarcastically, mocking the ridiculousness of what Draco just said.

"The hippogriff usually eats small mammals like ferrets and birds, sometimes even insects. I don't think it would go through the trouble to kill a person." Sage said, kicking a small pebble.

"Well, you do look a bit ferrety Malfoy." Theodore joked.

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled dumbly, Draco rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the paddock.

"I'll do it," Potter announced.

Sage looked around confused as he wasn't paying much attention.

As a couple of girls urged him against it, Potter climbed over the paddock fence and stood next to Hagrid, who patted him on the back and encouraged him. He then untied one of the hippogriffs. Sage watched in anticipation as Hagrid advised Potter.

He stared at the hippogriff, careful not to blink too much as Hagrid told him to. As the hippogriff turned its head and stared into Potter's eyes.

"That's it," Hagrid said, lowly and cautiously. "Now.. bow."

Potter complied and began to bow, a nervous expression on his face. He came back up and looked at the animal before him. He moved back slowly as Hagrid advised.

With Potter's luck, Sage half expected the hippogriff to attack Potter right there. But to Sage, and seemingly the rest of the class's surprise, the hippogriff bent its front knees into a bow. Many of the students, mostly the Gryffindors erupted into applause. Sage thought about Potter's luck. It's like he's simultaneously the luckiest and unluckiest boy in the world.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said happily. "Right- you can touch him-"

Potter looked up at Professor Hagrid nervously before approaching the hippogriff hesitantly, patting its head.

The situation quickly escalated and Hagrid prompted Potter to get onto the hippogriff. Sage stifled a laugh, remembering the letter he needed to get signed by his father to go into Hogsmead, and wondered why this didn't need a permission slip.

With a slap to its behind by Hagrid, the hippogriff was off, Potter clinging desperately to its neck. Sage watched Potter's brief joyride above the paddock, in shock. He turned his head to the boys beside him, Crabbe and Goyle watched slack-jawed while Draco grit his teeth, narrowing his eyes at Potter. Theodore looked up at Potter with a shocked smile on his face, his blue eyes wide. 

The hippogriff carrying Potter finally landed, and the class cheered and clapped. Goyle brought his hands up to clap before Draco made a face at him. Hagrid then released the remaining hippogriffs, inviting the rest of the class into the paddock. Sage hesitantly followed Theodore into the paddocks. The two boys stood at a tree next to Draco, who had chosen the hippogriff Potter had just ridden to apply his newfound knowledge. Theodore leaned against the tree crossing his arms.

"Are you going to try it?" Sage asked him.

"No, but I would like to see how that'll go," Theodore said, gesturing at Draco then sitting down against the tree.

Sage followed suit, sitting just beside Theodore. They silently watched as Draco looked at the hippogriff, calculating his approach.

"How much you wanna bet it works?" Theodore whispers.

"I'll give you three galleons if it works," Sage said, a small smile tugging on the sides of his mouth.

"Deal. I'll bet the same amount." Theodore said.

Just as he said that Draco approached the hippogriff, bowing at it. The boys watched intently as the hippogriff stared at Draco, who looked calm. The hippogriff then bowed just as it had done for Potter. Theodore laughed, looking down at Sage who sighed defeatedly. Draco then approached it, stroking its beak.

"This is so easy," Draco said nonchalantly. "It must've been if Potter could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?"

He looked at the hippogriff in the eye again, as if waiting for a response.

"Are you? You great ugly brute?"

In a flash of feathers and talons, the hippogriff jumped up onto its hind legs collecting momentum and striking Draco, who let out a shriek. In a moment, Sage got up from his seat, as did Theodore. They rushed away from the hippogriff as Hagrid began to wrestle it back into its collar. Sage walked up closer to Draco, trying to get a look at what happened.

Sage looked down at Draco, who was laying on the grass, writhing in pain, clutching his injured arm. Blood had begun to spread to his white button-up shirt, visible through the gash in his robes. Sage looked to Theodore, who stood there shocked much like the rest of the class.

"I'm dying!" Draco cried "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me,"

"You're not dying!" Hagrid said, walking up to Draco.

"You. Help me-" Hagrid began, looking over at Sage.

"Me?" Sage asked dumbly.

"Yes, you!" Hagrid replied. He had gone white as he began picking up Draco. "We've gotta get him outta here"

Sage shot Theodore a quick look. He then ran ahead of Hagrid, opening the door to the paddock, watching Draco get carried up the hill.

"Come on then!" Theodore said, rushing over to him and walking past him.

Sage and the rest of the class walked behind Hagrid, all slightly shaken. The shrill voice of Pansy shot from the crowd.

"You! Sage, you saw it!" She cried.

Sage found a few eyes on him. He opted to instead look up the mountain.

"I wasn't paying attention. He spoke to it after it bowed and it hit him," Sage said.

"They should fire him right away!" She responded, her eyes now glossed over with tears.

"I'm sure he's fine- Madam Pomfrey will heal it in no time, Pansy," Sage said, looking over at her pitifully.

"She'd better." She said, exasperated.

Sage and Theodore followed Pansy as she walked fast into the castle. They entered the Great Hall, bare of Hagrid or Draco.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" Pansy cried out, announcing it out to the class, most of which weren't too interested.

"You come too Sage, you know what happened," Pansy said, grabbing Sage by the wrist.

"I don't know anything about this!" Sage responded.

Before he could retort, Pansy, Sage's wrist in hand, rushed up the marble staircase, making their way to Madame Pomfrey's. Now that they were upstairs, they could simply follow Draco's groans echoing. They walked quickly down the hallways, practically deserted as most students were in class or their common rooms. Once they had made it to the hospital wing, they saw Draco, who was already on a cot was surrounded by both Hagrid and Madame Pomfrey. Sage had only been here twice, once when he caught particularly nasty flu, and another when Theodore was injured during broom flight class.

"Draco. How are you?" Pansy said, running up to his cot. Sage followed her hesitantly.

"When my father hears about this..." Draco began, eyes closed, completely ignoring Pansy.

"He can't even hear me!" Pansy said, sitting on his cot and grabbing Draco's hand and cupping it in her own. A single tear streaming down her face. Sage looked down at his shoes, feeling out of place.

Suddenly, Sage heard the unmistakable voice of Snape.

"What's going on here?" He asked, walking in, dark robes crazing the floor, followed by one of Madame Pomfrey's student assistants. Snape looked up at Hagrid and Madame Pomfrey, then to Draco,

"It's nothing to write home about, I'll have him fixed up in no time Severus." Madame Pomfrey said to him.

"It was the hippogriff it tried to kill me-" Draco managed.

"I was showing them the hippogriffs-" Hagrid stammered.

"Then it attacked him. Sage saw the whole thing." Pansy said, tearfully looking down at Draco.

Sage felt himself go red and wished to disappear at that moment where Snape, Madame Pomfrey, and Hagrid collectively laid his eyes on him.

"Mr Saviano, is this true?" Snape asked.

"Y-yes. I was watching Draco when it happened." Sage responded.

"Come with me," Snape said, walking out of the hospital wing.

Sage followed him nervously, he waited just outside the door.

"Explain what happened," Snape said plainly.

"Well, Draco and the hippogriff bowed at each other and everything was fine until Draco began stroking it and said that, well, getting it to trust him was easier than he thought" Sage decided it would be best to keep out the Potter comment.

"But then he called it a great ugly brute, which I assume angered it and it lashed out." Sage finished.

"Hagrid told us that hippogriffs are proud creatures, but I'm not sure Draco heard him.." He muttered.

"Thank you, that's enough," Snape said, Sage swallowed. "You share a dormitory with Mr Malfoy, is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Sage responded.

"Perfect. I'd like you to fetch his work for him for however long he's in here for. We wouldn't want him missing out on schoolwork." Snape said.

"Oh. Okay." Sage responded, somewhat disappointed.

Snape turned on his heels and walked away from the hospital wing. Sage watched him walk away and sighed. He turned back into the hospital wing. He looked around, the cots were all empty except for Draco's, this was understandable as it was only the first day of the year.

He looked over at Draco, Madame Pomfrey had already begun healing him, hovering her wand over his wound. An older pretty dark-haired teacher's assistant watched her, she took notes and nodded as Madame Pomfrey cast spells. Sage walked over hesitantly, watching her healing Draco. Draco had taken off his robes and the now torn sleeve of his shirt was rolled up so his injury was visible to Madame Pomfrey. Sage winced looking down at the deep gash on Draco's forearm. The gash was hideously bloody, and Sage would've presumed it painful if Draco hadn't made it obvious by his facial expression. Pansy watched his face contort, and wiped a tear with the sleeve of her robes.

As Madame Pomfrey cast her spells, the wound appeared to age, the teacher's assistant cleaned off Draco's blood, and the effects of the spells were completely visible, it began to darken, barely scabbed over. Draco looked down at his wound.

"Stop- that's enough-" Draco said.

Madame Pomfrey put her wand down.

"I want my father to see it properly." He explained.

"Well then." She responded sweetly, putting her wand away in her apron pocket. "You can stay for as long as you like."

"It looks pretty bad," Sage said offhandedly as Madame Pomfrey walked away. The teacher's assistant began wrapping Draco's arm in thick gauze.

"It's nothing we can't fix." She began "Just little Draco drumming things up for attention from dear papa Lucius."

Sage looked at the girl before them, as did Draco. She laughed, and Sage finally recognized her.

"I'm not looking for attention this is a serious injur-"

"Veronica?" Sage interrupted.

She looked up at him, Veronica Shafiq was a fifth-year witch with ivory skin and jet black hair in a braid that landed just above her waist. Her black eyes were hooded and deep-set, her round face adorned with a small grin.

"I almost didn't recognize you with this nurse getup on," Pansy said.

"Well, I-"

"Miss Shafiq!" Madame Pomfrey called. "Could you please go fetch a student for me-"

Veronica sighed and gave a three a look before returning to Madame Pomfrey. Sage turned to Draco again, who laid in the bed and stared at his wound. 

"Pansy would you please get a piece of parchment out of my bag?" He said, keeping his eyes on the wound.

"Yes of course Draco." She said, complying. 

She grabbed his bag, which laid beside his bed and took out a piece of parchment.

"I need you to help me draft a letter to my father." He said, finally looking up at her.

She pulled out a quill from her own bag, as well as a pot of ink. She laid the parchment on one of his textbooks and sat at the foot of his bed, laying the book on her lap.

"Dear Father, I'm writing to you under the most unfortunate of circumstances." He said, Pansy's quill scratching away at the parchment.

"A hippogriff was unleashed upon me by gamekeeper-" Draco paused.

"What's his name?" Draco asked, glancing up at Sage. 

"Rubeus Hagrid." He responded, recalling his school timetable.

"Ah. Right- A hippogriff was unleashed upon me by gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid." Draco continued.

"Although I tried to be civilized, one can only do so much in the face of such..." Draco narrowed his eyes in thought. "degeneracy."

"The hippogriff, who as I recall was named Buckbeak, was merciless in its attack on me. I am writing to you from the hospital wing with assistance from Pansy, as I am unable to write."

"The injury was to my arm, as I was simply following the instructions assigned by Rubeus Hagrid, the beast jumped on its haunches and pounced, using its claws to rip a gash into my arm. It was terribly gruesome and equally painful. It could have killed me, Father, I fear my arm may never be the same again." He described, his eyes seemed glazed over as he recalled, or schemed. Sage wasn't sure which one. 

"I ask you to please take some sort of action-" He began.

"Scratch that Pansy." He said and she nodded in response. 

"I implore you to please get me some justice. Signed, Draco." He finished.

"Oh and also- tell mother to please send me some more peppermint toads." He finished.

Pansy's pen scratching finally came to an end and she looked over the letter, then held it up to Draco, who read it over. 

"Sage, would you take my bag to my dormitory? Also Pansy please get this out to my father." He said, gesturing to the letter in Pansy's hand. 

"I want to stay here with you," Pansy said, locking eyes with Draco. Draco blinked, his face remaining impartial. 

Pansy handed Sage the letter, he grabbed it and blew on it slightly to help the ink dry, then folded it up, placing it in his pocket.

"Here," Draco said. He used his noninjured hand to take a single ring off his index finger, handing it to Sage. 

Sage took the ring and looked down at it, it was a signet ring inscribed with the Malfoy family crest, Sage recognized it almost instantly as he'd seen it hung up at Draco's house.

"Okay. I'll go do that." Sage said awkwardly, feeling out of place as Draco and Pansy gazed at each other. 

Sage grabbed Draco's bag and made his way out of the hospital wing.


	5. Chapter 5

Sage felt relieved he had no more classes for the day as he arrived at his dormitory. He put down Draco's bag beside his bed and fished the letter out of his pocket. He read it over and tried to imagine what Lucius Malfoy would think. Sage couldn't help but think of the fate of the hippogriff once this letter is sent off. For a second, he thought of the fireplace in the common room but figured Draco would be suspicious if nothing came from his letter.

"What's up?"

Sage looked back and saw Theodore walking into the dorm room. Sage had seen Blaise and Goyle in the common room, but he hadn't seen Theodore.

"Draco wants this letter delivered." Sage sighed, handing the letter to Theodore, who skimmed over it quickly.

"Holy shit." He responded, laughing.

"He's gonna get that poor animal killed," Sage said disappointedly, taking the letter back from Theodore.

"Well, that's Draco for you.." Theodore said, putting his bag down on his bed, taking out a textbook.

"Do you know what you're doing for Binns' paper?" Theodore asked.

"I'm writing about the goblin rebellions. I read a very interesting book about it over the summer." Sage rambled "Once you read the writings from the goblin's perspective you can really get an idea of where they were coming from-"

Sage was interrupted by Blaise's entrance to the dormitory.

"What about you Blaise?" Theodore asked. "What are you writing the Binns' paper on?"

"Probably the witch hunts." Blaise responded "The medieval ones, I mean."

"Maybe you could write yours about the history of magical objects, you've always liked that," Sage suggested to Theodore.

"Hm. I probably will." Theodore responded.

"Sage, I heard you got a good look at what happened to Draco," Blaise said sitting on his bed.

"Yeah, I did. Come see this letter." Sage said, walking over to Blaise, handing Draco's letter. He took the letter and skimmed over it, a small smile forming on his face.

"He's probably just playing it up for Pansy, everyone knows he fancies her," Theodore said.

"Veronica Shafiq was at the hospital wing," Sage said, Theodore seemed to perk up. "She reckons he's doing it for attention from his father."

The two boys laughed in response. The laughing promptly died down as Goyle entered the dormitory. Blaise cleared his throat and handed the letter back to Sage.

Sage walked back to the other side of the dormitory and looked over at Draco's desk. He walked over and opened one of his drawers, taking out an empty envelope. He figured that Draco's letter should be delivered with one of his envelopes. Sage then made his way to his own desk, sitting down. He grabbed a black velvet box and set it on his desk. He cracked it open, taking out a small piece of dark green wax, as well as a wax spoon and tea candle. He folded up the letter and placed it in the envelope.

He then took his wand out from his robes and pointed it at the candle.

"Incendio," Sage said with a flick of his hand.

The candle promptly lighted, and Sage put his wand away, wasting no time putting the wax in the spoon. He held the spoon closely above the fire, watching the wax slowly melt. He used his other hand to reach into his pocket, pulling out Draco's signet ring. Sage looked down at the silver ring under the light and noticed Draco's full name inscribed on the inside of the ring, as well as his birth year.

The wax had finally finished melting, and Sage poured it onto the closing side of the letter, quickly pressing the signet onto it, creating a circular seal that shut the letter. Sage looked down at his work, waiting for it to dry.

"Should I really send this?" Sage said quietly to Theodore, who sat in his bed reading a book.

"I don't know. I mean if you don't send it, he'll just have someone else do it." Theodore said.

"I suppose you're right," Sage said.

He flipped the letter and grabbed his quill, quickly writing the names of its intended recipients on the front. He then put the black velvet box, as well as its contents back into a drawer.

"I'm going to take this to the owlery," Sage said, getting up from his chair, picking up the envelope.

Sage walked to the door, exiting the dormitory. He looked out onto the common room, seeing a few familiar faces. He kept walking out into the hallways. He glanced at the many students walking by, but ultimately kept to himself as he made his way to the West Tower.

Once he reached the owlery, he glanced around the room, looking for Draco's owl. He finally laid eyes on it, it was perched on a large branch, looking out at the rest of the owls. It was a proud-looking eagle owl with intense, immediately recognizable orange eyes. Sage walked over to it, and it seemed to recognize him.

Although Sage himself never wrote any of the Malfoys, he used to occasionally receive mail from this owl on behalf of his father, uncle, or even sometimes his mother as a little boy when Draco and Sage's families would write to each other. He used to wait in the garden for the owls to arrive just so he could watch them fly in. He was fascinated by how high and how far they could go. Although Sage would usually see their grand family Stygian owl delivering mail from the Malfoys, their eagle owl seemed to make a lovely backup for when the Stygian owl was unavailable and was now Draco's personal owl at Hogwarts.

He approached it and it looked up at Sage ready to listen.

"This is for Malfoy Manor, Lucius, and Narcissa specifically," Sage said, handing the owl the envelope.

The owl blinked and Sage watched it flap its wings as it flew away in a blur, envelope its clutch.

***

Once Sage made it back to the dormitory, he sat on his bed, fidgeting with his hands.

"Don't stress about it, Sage," Theodore said, sitting at his desk, jotting down notes from a book.

Sage sighed in response, still twiddling his thumbs.

"How long do you reckon he'll stay at the hospital wing?" Goyle asked.

"Haven't you gone up and asked him?" Blaise said.

"It's too late now," Theodore said,

Almost as if on command, the candelabra above their heads lit, as well as a few candles sitting on the boy's nightstands. Sage looked out the window, like the others in the dungeons, the window was into the great lake, and many different features of the lake were visible out these windows. The sunshine coming through the water cast a green light into the room. The sun, however, was starting to set.

"Nonsense. It's only 4," Goyle said.

"I think he'll stay at least until his father says he'll do something about the attack," Theodore said.

"That's basically what the letter said," Sage muttered.

"I'm going to go ask him." Goyle said.

"Going to ask who?" A voice said.

The boys turned their heads to the door, Pansy leaned against the doorframe.

"Draco. Do you know how long he's going to stay at the hospital wing?" Goyle said.

"Why do you care? You're like his boyfriend, always following him around." Theodore joked. Blaise chuckled.

"I don't know when he's getting out," Pansy said, ignoring Theodore's comment. "It's not looking good for him. His father won't be happy about it. Draco told me his father will want to come to see him."

"He's just playing it up Pansy-" Blaise said.

"You guys are not taking this seriously. He could've died." Pansy interrupted, crossing her arms defensively, her face starting to go pink.

"I mean you do have to admit he's being a bit dramatic-" Theodore began again

"That's enough. Let's not talk about this anymore." Sage said. "If it bothers you so much you and Goyle could go check on him."

"You should go quick before the hospital wing closes," Blaise said.

Goyle nodded and picked up and he left the room, Pansy following close behind. The remaining boys sat either at their desks or on their beds, getting started on schoolwork.

"Do either of you have any good notes about magical artifacts from last year?" Theodore asked, looking up at Blaise and Sage.

"You could probably find something about them at the library," Blaise said.

"You're right," Theodore said, closing the book on his desk.

He got up and looked over to Sage, who also got up. The two boys walked out of the dormitory and into the common room.

"Did Veronica say anything about me?" Theodore asked quietly, looking over at Sage, eyes wide and hopeful.

"No," Sage said simply. Theodore looked deflated. "She didn't say much of anything."

"Oh," Theodore said disappointedly.

The two boys eventually made it to the library, and they walked through the grand wood bookshelves, looking for a quiet place to sit. They looked around at the many students, a Hufflepuff girl looking deep in thought, and a Ravenclaw boy scouring the shelves for whatever he was looking for. The two boys eventually settled on a table in the corner, farther away from their peers. Sage sat down and looked over at Hermione Granger, who looked to be pouring over a book at a small table by herself. She sat up in her chair, lifting the book off the table and holding up to her face to get a better look. The book was fairly thick, gold with white trim. the title read _Time turners: A history_

"You could look into time turners," Sage suggested.

"Hmm," Theodore said, getting up. "Maybe I will."

As Theodore got up to walk to a bookshelf, Sage grabbed a book of his own, specifically one about the older wizarding families. Theodore sat down, a thick brown book in his hand. Sage followed suit with his own. They both cracked their books open, peering into the pages within. Theodore fiddled with a button on the cuff of his shirt.

Sage looked into the index, he always half expected a new name to pop up, but it was always the same, he could put faces to most of the names in the index. Sage glanced up at Theodore, who put a hand to his temple, rubbing it in frustration.

Sage looked back into his book, opening it up to The Notts chapter. He scanned the pages, they contained nothing he didn't already know from talking to Theodore. He turned the page, landing on the Malfoys chapter. It read like word salad to him, names like William the Conqueror and Queen Elizabeth. Theodore sighed loudly and put his book down, looking at what Sage the book in Sage's hands, Sage looked up at him.

"I'm reading about the Malfoys," Sage said, eyes darting back to the book.

"Oh," Theodore said uninterested.

Then, Sage looked up at the room before him as Snape walked in. Snape turned his head, laying eyes on Sage, and Sage felt himself sink into his chair.

"Mr. Saviano?" He said, walking over.

"Yes?" Sage responded, straightening his back.

"I thought I instructed you to bring Mr. Malfoy his things," Snape said, his voice cold.

"Oh. Sorry Professor." Sage uttered.

"He needs his clothes as he's going to be staying in the infirmary for a few days," Snape explained.

"His father's going to come, right?" Theodore said.

"It appears so," Snape said.

Snape then turned, making his way further into the library. Sage sighed and got up, closing the book. Theodore followed suit, he picked up his book, and the two boys made their way out of the library.

"I don't understand why he couldn't get Goyle to do it. He should be up there with Draco anyway." Sage muttered as they made their way back to the dormitories.

"I wouldn't trust Goyle with a pet rock, and I doubt Snape would," Theodore responded, laughing to himself.

The two boys walked down the hallways, they looked out into the sky as it darkened as the night began falling. Sage sighed, it felt like such a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter today lol, sorry it took so long to come out haha <3


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